Inside Out

Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her father starts a new job in San Francisco. Like all of us, Riley is guided by her emotions ; Joy, Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness. The emotions live in Headquarters, the control center inside Riley's mind, where they help advise her through everyday life.

Notice that there are just a bunch of feelings in there, fighting it out for supremacy. There isn't any ego or soul that referees or sets goals or anything like that. This is remarkably similar to what we learn from modern brain science, e.g., "How the Mind Works," by Pinker. I'm surprised the religious commenters haven't picked up on this. How are they going to roast you in hell properly, if there's nobody in there who's responsible?

At first I didn't like this movie because it wasn't easy. But now it's one of my favorites, and perhaps the animated movie that I value most. It's really quite beautiful and humorous, sad and joyous, and very rewarding.